Dealing with an Angry Public

As a S’porean who (to his great surprise and against his better judgement) believes that the PM is sincere abt addressing the concerns of S’poreans, I hope the PM will read “Dealing with an Angry Public: The Mutual Gains Approach to Resolving Disputes”; and make it compulsory reading for ministers, PAP MPs and senior civil servants.

The book is about the “mutual gains approach” in dealing with the public:

• Acknowledge the concerns of the other side.
• Encourage joint fact-finding.
• Offer contingent commitments to minimize impacts if they do occur, and promise to compensate unintended (but knowable) effects.
• Accept responsibility, admit mistakes, and share power.
• Act in a trustworthy fashion at all times.
• Focus on building long-term relationships.

Two useful links for anyone interested in the book
http://web.mit.edu/publicdisputes/book/dap.html
 
http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/example/suss7541.htm

And WP, SDP and SPP leaders and public communications teams should buy the book to improve their communication skills.

Yes, I left out RP, NSP and SDA: for a very gd reason. The 2011 GE shows that these parties have been rejected by S’poreans. I hope they will heed the message and close shop.

Advertisement